Pub fundraiser supports ambulance after toddler struck by car

The Royal Staff pub in Aldershot held a busy fundraiser in aid of the air ambulance which rushed Tilly Lambe to hospital last month

A fun day raised money for the Hampshire and IOW air ambulance which took two-year-old Tilly to hospital

An Aldershot pub has raised more than £1,700 for the air ambulance that rushed a two-year-old girl to hospital after she was hit by a car.

Tilly Lambe was struck close to her home in Belle Vue Road, in Aldershot, on Sunday March 23 at around 10.20am, before being airlifted to Southampton General Hospital.

Doctors began trying to wake the toddler from her induced coma early last week, and this week her mother, 34-year-old Jessica Lambe, said her daughter was ‘doing well’.

“She is still on drugs but they are being reduced to wake her more as she is still sleeping a lot,” said Mrs Lambe. “She is having physio twice a day now, but we still have a long way to go and at least the next eight weeks in hospital.”

There was an outpouring of support from the local community following the accident, and more than 300 people turned up to the Royal Staff Pub, in Mount Pleasant Road, on Saturday April 5 to raise money for the Hampshire and Isle of White Air Ambulance.

From 1pm until after 6pm, the pub played host to face-painting stalls, a raffle, a teddy bear’s picnic for families plus a bouncy castle and a barbecue.

“It was a phenomenal atmosphere,” said landlord Brian Longley, who organised the day with his wife, Jane. “There were so many people here it looked like a London market.

“It was a fantastic day and everyone enjoyed themselves – thank God it didn’t rain.”

Mr Longley said the raffle was so popular that it took more than two hours to read out all the winners.

This forced a planned auction to be postponed, meaning it will now take place on Good Friday, when a Manchester United football shirt signed by Ryan Giggs and David Beckham will go under the hammer, along with a complete dolls set of the stars from One Direction.

Tilly Lambe

Mrs Lambe, who has remained at Tilly’s bedside since the accident, was able to make an appearance at the Royal Staff event along with her two sons, Daniel and Alfie.

Mr Longley said he wanted to thank everybody who gave up their time to make the fundraising day possible.

“It was a good community event and £1,700 is not bad for a small pub,” he added.

Mrs Lambe said the groundswell of support following the accident, including dozens of ‘get well’ messages left on her garden gate, was ‘amazing’.

“It makes a difference without a doubt,” she said. “When I’m here on my own and I look at Facebook and all the messages, it keeps me going.”

Mrs Lambe stressed she does not blame the driver of the blue Peugeot 206 which collided with Tilly, and no arrests have been made.

She has been editorial director of the online and print titles in Surrey and north-east Hampshire since 2007. Marnie previously worked at the BBC as a producer for 5 Live, having moved to national radio from BBC Sussex and Surrey.